Server design and method

ABSTRACT

A communication system for a vehicle includes a server that includes a real time operating system, at least one cabin function application that runs on the real time operating system, and at least one in-flight entertainment application that runs on another operating system on top of the real time operating system. Thus, an in-operation entertainment system is capable of providing audio and/or visual content to a large number of locations in a cabin of the vehicle, and a cabin function system is capable of providing various cabin applications, e.g., lighting level control, attendant calling, air conditioning control, etc. at different locations in the vehicle cabin in a manner that is isolated and prioritized over the entertainment system.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/924,101, filed Apr. 30, 2007, herein incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and method for providingin-flight entertainment (IFE) and cabin functions throughout a cabin ofa vehicle, such as an aircraft. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to a design of a server system and method for interfacing IFEand cabin function systems that may include multiple devices ofdifferent levels of security.

2. Description of Related Art

The head-end in a related integrated IFE and cabin function system istypically the most expensive individual part of an overall cabinfunction system. Requirements for these related systems include serversin the head-end that provide redundancy for each of the digital accesslayer (DAL) services and that securely isolate the cabin functions.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a communication system for avehicle, comprising: a server including a real time operating system; atleast one cabin function application related to operating a hardwarecomponent of the vehicle cabin running on the real time operatingsystem; and at least one in-operation entertainment application relatedto operating an entertainment system running on an other operatingsystem on top of the real time operating system of the server.

Integration of the cabin functions and entertainment functions reducescosts and improves performance of cabin function systems. Thus, it isdesirable to develop an open standard from which IFE and cabin functionservices can be procured from different vendors. Therefore, there is aneed for a server architecture that is capable of interfacing both theIFE and cabin function systems while at the same time providingdifferent levels of security and isolation between the cabin functionsand the entertainment functions.

Protection and isolation can be achieved by a firewall and multiplelevels of security. The major advantage of this solution is the improvedperformance, lower overall cost, and comprehensive architecture thatincreases the system integrator's technical capability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention, and together with the general description given above and thedetailed description given below, serve to explain features of theinvention.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are pictorial diagrams illustrating examples of seatinglayouts for commercial aircraft in which an embodiment of the presentinvention may be employed;

FIG. 2 is an isometric pictorial view illustrating an example of anin-seat video player arrangement for the commercial aircraft as shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating an example of an IFEsystem employed in an aircraft as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B and which mayemploy an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating an example of multiplevirtual servers in a single hardware configuration;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating a multi-core hardwarearchitecture for a server according to an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the isolation of therespective networks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Cabin Layout and IFE Functionality

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method forpresenting video and associated audio to multiple presentation devices,such as multiple video players and multiple audio headsets in an IFEsystem in a vehicle. This environment is typically an airplane, train,bus, boat, ship, or other multi-passenger vehicle where there aremultiple overhead video monitors being viewed by multiple passengers wholisten to the audio associated to the overhead video program through aheadset plugged into an audio jack local to the passenger's seat. TheIFE system is capable of providing audio and/or visual content to alarge number of locations in the vehicle cabin.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate examples of typical seating arrangements fortwo different aircraft 100-1 and 100-2. As shown, the environment of anIFE system for the aircraft 100-1 or 100-2 includes a densely packedpopulation of passenger seats 102-1 or 102-2 (hereinafter genericallyreferred to as a seat or seats 102) organized into rows and columns.Seats are typically organized into groups of from 2 to 4 side-by-sideseats, and seat groups are placed into long rows running between thefront and back of the aircraft. Short distance aircraft 100-1 typicallyhave two rows of seat groups with the center aisle 104-1 for access.Longer distance aircraft 100-2 typically have three rows of seat groupswith two aisles 104-2 for access. As shown in FIG. 2, each passengerseat 102 is provided with a headset jack 106-1 or 106-2 (hereinaftergenerically referred to as headset jack or jacks 106) into which anaudio headset can be plugged.

Entertainment audio is typically presented to each passenger over theirrespective headset. Entertainment video is typically presented topassengers in two different ways, either via overhead video monitor 124(see FIG. 3) or via an in-seat video player 108-1 or 108-2 (see FIG. 2).In the overhead video arrangement, an aircraft 100-1 or 100-2 is fittedwith a number of overhead video monitors 124 to which a video programcan be supplied. Overhead video systems have evolved from those whichprovided a single video projector in each class of the aircraft cabin tocurrent systems which provide a large number of individual monitors hungfrom the ceiling or baggage bins. In current systems, each passenger canchoose to watch the overhead monitor most convenient for their personalviewing.

In the in-seat video player arrangement, the aircraft 100-1 or 100-2 isequipped with individual video players 108-1 or 108-2 (hereinaftergenerically referred to as a video player or players 108) for eachpassenger seat 102, as shown in FIG. 2, which provides each passengerwith an individualized entertainment experience. It is common to combineboth types of video presentation into an aircraft, and it is also commonto differentiate service to different passenger classes (e.g., in-seatvideo for first and business classes, and overhead video in economyclass). In either case, the overhead video monitors and in-seat videoplayers 108 communicate with an IFE system 110 as shown in FIG. 3.

An example of the physical architecture of the digital network in atypical IFE system 110 is further illustrated in FIG. 3. The basiccomponents are a set of head end servers 112, a distribution network 114that can include one or more network switches 116 and a plurality ofarea switches 118, and columns of seat components such as seatelectronic boxes (SEBs) 120 and tapping units 122. The servers 112 maybe digital servers (e.g., preloaded with MPEG digital content) or may bereal-time encoders capable of converting input video and audio into MPEGdata. The network switch 116 can be, for example, a layer 2 or layer 3Ethernet switch, and is configured to connect any server 112 to anycomponent of the IFE system 110 of the aircraft. An area switch 118 isprovided in each area of the aircraft 100-1 or 100-2 to connect thenetwork switch 116 to multiple columns of seats. In this example, eacharea switch 118 connects to three seat columns, but the number of seatcolumns to which an area switch 118 connects can vary as desired.

Each seat group as discussed above is fitted with an SEB 120, and thecomponents at the seats 102, such as the video players 108 and headsetjacks 106, are wired from an area switch 118 through a number of SEBs120 arranged in a seat column. As can be appreciated by one skilled inthe art, an SEB 120 extracts data packets intended for locally attachedplayers (decoders) and passes other packets through to the next SEB 120in the seat column as required.

As further shown in FIG. 3, each overhead monitor 124 typically includesor is associated with a decoder 126 and a display 128. The overheadmonitors 124 are, in this exemplary arrangement, connected to the IFEsystem 110 through a set of tapping units (TU) 122 that perform the sameor similar functions as the SEBs 120. As also shown, each headset jack106, and in-seat video player 108, includes or is associated with adecoder 126 that is connected to an SEB 120 as discussed above.

Many IFE systems 110 have multiple video programs stored on a server112. When playback is desired, a video player (e.g., video player 108 oroverhead monitor 124) obtains the material from the server 112 anddecodes the compressed content into a presentable form. If the materialis to be presented on overhead monitors 124 or in a video announcementthat is to be simultaneously viewed by all passengers, the materialtypically can be decoded by a single player and distributed to allmonitors using an analog distribution technique, e.g., through RFmodulation or baseband distribution technologies. If the material is tobe presented to a passenger on an individual basis (e.g., Video onDemand) then the passenger has a dedicated player (e.g., a video monitor108), which can obtain a compressed digital program and decode itspecifically for the passenger.

To support a broadcast program, a server 112 would typically transmit adigital stream throughout the digital network of the IFE system 110using a network protocol appropriate for a one-to-many relationship. Ascan be appreciated by one skilled in the art, typically TCP/IPcommunications can be used for one-to-one communications. Also, aone-to-many network protocol, commonly referred to as a “multi-cast,”can be combined with a fixed rate streaming protocol such as a Real-TimeProtocol (RTP).

As can further be appreciated by one skilled in the art, multicast on anIP network typically assigns each multicast program a specific multicastIP address. The server 112 can then transmits the program onto thenetwork (e.g., using RTP) with, for example, a broadcast layer 2 addressand the assigned multicast layer 3 address. The network of the IFEsystem 110 can make this stream available to all network devices, suchas video player 108 and overhead monitors 124. A player (e.g., videoplayer 108) can present this program by “subscribing” to the programusing the IGMP protocol specifying the desired multicast IP address.This process permits the streaming source to transmit a single datastream and have it received by all desired players on the network.

The example of the data network architecture described above with regardto FIG. 3 enables a server 112 to produce a single packetizedvideo/audio stream which is available to all desired video players 108and overhead monitors 124 in the aircraft 100-1 or 100-2. Thisarrangement allows for a personal, in-seat presentation of a commonsource program to requesting passengers.

Processor, Network, and Cabin Functions

The cabin functions of an aircraft are functionally separate from theIFE functions—the former are directed to operations relating to thecabin itself. These functions performed by the cabin function system mayinclude things like (referring to FIG. 6) controlling hardwareassociated with the cabin lighting 410 (e.g., lighting level andlighting area control), the public address system PA 420 (attendant andcaptain calling), overhead 430, information signs 440, galleys 450,interphone 460, lavatories 470, smoke detectors 480, and environmentalfunctions, such as air conditioning, and controlling/detecting these atdifferent areas of the cabin.

The system may also include at least one wireless access point (WAP) 500that may, in some situations, be used by passengers with laptopcomputers or other wireless devices. The WAP 500 provides wireless LANnetwork connectivity for airborne applications. A WAP 500 may beprovided for both the IFE as well as the cabin functions. The WAP 500may be connected to the IFE system to allow passenger wireless devices(e.g., laptops) to connect to on-board cache Web content andentertainment services, as well as off-aircraft connectivity services.

The WAP 500 is preferably ARINC 763 (Network Service System) compliant,and may be based on, e.g., the IEEE 802.11b standard. It may employ DSSS(Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) and operate in the 2.4 GHz radiofrequency band. Each WAP 500 has a range of at least 300 feet (or atleast 100 meters), and transfers data effectively at rates of at least11 Mbps. Moreover, additional WAPs can be daisy-chained together.Furthermore, some or all of the network of the IFE system and of thecabin function system may be wireless, using the WAP 500 to access thenetwork.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the server 112 includes amultiple core microprocessor (e.g., Intel Xenon, Intel Itanium, etc.)capable of operating multiple tasks at the same time. A memory partitionmay separate a DAL-C (cabin functions) network and a DAL-E (IFEfunctions) network. Separate high capacity storage devices may be usedthat are based on different technologies. For example, one or more harddrives may be used for IFE functions such as video, audio and gamesapplications, and a solid state flash memory may be used to store thecabin applications. The hard drive is less robust, but can hold moredata and has a cheaper cost per megabyte. Its use for non-criticalapplications, therefore, is appropriate. The solid state flash memoryhas no moving parts and is therefore very robust, making it ideal forthe more important cabin applications (which do not tend to comprise asmuch data).

Referring now to FIG. 4, one of the servers 112 may have a commerciallyavailable real time operating system (OS) 200 on top of which runs asecure application for the DAL-C network 210 within the context of acabin server 260, and an extra OS layer 220 may work with differentapplications for the IFE DAL-E network 230 within the context of avirtual IFE server 250. Such a software configuration achieves therequired isolation since each application runs on a different OS layerand within its own specific server confines. As shown, the IFEapplication 230 runs within a virtual IFE server 250 that is implementedusing the Linux OS 220. This runs on top of the Real-Time OS 200 that isimplemented to interact with the hardware physical server 112.

Thus, an IFE application includes an array of multiple virtual servers250 that operate with various instances of the OS and are logicallyseparated according to services and functions. Since cabin services aremore important than in-flight entertainment, the cabin serverapplications 210 communicate with various devices present in the network410-480 and have priority over the IFE applications 230, runningdirectly on top of the real-time OS 200. The configuration shown in FIG.4 also allows for redundancy by having at least one and preferably twophysically distinct hardware servers 112′ operating in hot stand-by sothat a failed server can be quickly replaced and with no or minimalinterruption, and allows high density storage devices 310, 320 to alsohave redundancy.

FIG. 5, shows a hardware design illustrating an embodiment of a hardwareplatform for a server according to the present invention. As shown inFIG. 5, a multiple-core microprocessor 300 may be coupled to one or morehard drives 310, one or more solid state flash hard drives 320, and toone or more additional memories 330, preferably over respectivehigh-speed busses 340, 342 associated with the processor 300.

FIG. 6 illustrates the use of a multiple-core microprocessor 300 in thehead-end that permits the implementation of both the IFE applications230 and the cabin applications 210 and respective networks, e.g., theDAL-C Core 1 Network 360 and the DAL-E Core 2 Network 370 in commonhardware. The services and their specific applications can be performedin the hardware by a mechanism called “virtual server” in anarchitecture called virtualization. In the virtual server architecture,a physical server computer or processor 300 is partitioned into multiplevirtual servers 250, 260 that each appears to running on its owndedicated machine, can run its own operating system, and can beindependently rebooted.

The physical server boots into a real-time operating system 200 and thenruns a program that boots each virtual server 250, 260. The virtualservers 250, 260 do not have direct access to hardware (e.g., thephysical portion of the server 112) or low-level services of thephysical server 112. The virtualization can be either software based orhardware based. In the software based virtualization environment, thevirtual machines share the same kernel and actually require the mainnode's resources. In the hardware based virtualization, thevirtualization mechanism partitions the real hardware resources—thiskind of environment is potentially more secure.

The DAL-E Core 2 Network 370 can be implemented as, e.g., a one-gigabitEthernet (1GE) local-area network (LAN) that daisy-chains the IFEcomponents, such as the seat-back video display unit (SVDU) 108 thatutilizes a low-power ultra-high performance microprocessor. In the SVDU108, a 1GE switch can be used to deliver the content to the display orroute it to a downstream neighbor SVDU 108. The system can therefore beconfigured to operate in an end-to-end 1 GE network.

The system is optimally designed to handle SVDUs 108 that can decode,e.g., MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H-264 and VC1 with a native resolution of 720 Pfor a high quality HD video signal (although higher or lower resolutionsare within the scope of the invention as well). A set of interfacesallows the SVDU 108 to interface with wireless technologies based onWiMAX, WiFi, DVB-H and others, establishing a path for a wirelessnetwork. Furthermore, this design could optimally accommodateproductivity applications with, e.g., Microsoft Office® or similaroffice tools, 3D games with Open GL® and voice-over-Internet (VoIP)applications.

In an embodiment of the invention, the audio and controls associatedwith the IFE could be sent to a user's headphone and (T)PCU via the 1 GEor by a low bit-rate wireless network that connects the SVDU 108directly to the seat arm in a master/slave or peer-to-peer relationship.The power can be supplied by a common 48Vdc (or other) feed. In eachSVDU 108, a lower power DC to DC converter could be used to step downthe required voltage. An audio only solution could also be implementedusing a 100 Mbits network and a smart PCU, since the high video datatransfer rates are not required.

The software architecture for both the IFE applications 230 and thecabin applications 210 are preferably based on the Service OrientedArchitecture (SOA) in order to allow reusability across services,customers and suppliers. With this architecture, the introduction of anycompliant service could be integrated without a major software design.The SOA would assure independent evolution on services and thescalability of the technical solution. Within this architecture, theDAL-C, Core 1 network 360 could connect the third parties sensors,devices, and communication gear for the crew. Similarly, allconnectivity related to live TV, Internet access, and cell phones may beinterconnected to the DAL-E Core 2 network 370 further allowingdistribution of pay-per-view content to personal entertainment devices(PEDs). Revenue sharing could be based on bandwidth usage.

While the invention has been disclosed with reference to certainexemplary embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations, and changesto the described embodiments are possible without departing from thesphere and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims andequivalents thereof. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention notbe limited to the described embodiments, but that it have the full scopedefined by the language of the following claims. The reference to“flight” and “aircraft” relate to specific embodiments, and theinvention can be generalized to “operation” and “vehicle” accordingly.

Reference has been made to the various embodiments illustrated in thedrawings, and specific language has been used to describe theseembodiments. However, no limitation of the scope of the invention isintended by this specific language, and the invention should beconstrued to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to oneof ordinary skill in the art.

The system may use any form of processor and comprise a memory, datastorage, and user interface devices, such as a graphical display,keyboard, barcode, mouse, or any other known user input or outputdevice. The system may also be connected to other systems over anetwork, such as the Internet, and may comprise interfaces for otherdevices. The software that runs on the system can be stored on acomputer-readable media, such as tape, CD-ROM, DVD, or any other knownmedia for program and data storage.

The particular implementations shown and described herein areillustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwiselimit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity,conventional aspects may not be described in detail. Furthermore, theconnecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presentedare intended to represent example functional relationships and/orphysical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should benoted that many alternative or additional functional relationships,physical connections or logical connections may be present in apractical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to thepractice of the invention unless the element is specifically describedas “essential” or “critical”. The word mechanism is intended to be usedgenerally and is not limited solely to mechanical embodiments. Numerousmodifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilledin this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

1. A communication system adapted for use on an aircraft, comprising: aserver including a real time operating system; at least one cabinfunction application executing directly on the real time operatingsystem included in the server, the at least one cabin functionapplication related to operating a hardware component of a cabin of theaircraft; a virtual machine included in the server and executing on thereal time operating system included in the server, the virtual machineincluding a second operating system, different from the real timeoperating system; and at least one entertainment application executingon the second operating system in the virtual machine in the server, theat least one entertainment application configured to provide content foran entertainment system; and wherein the at least one cabin functionapplication executing directly on the real time operating system and theat least one entertainment application executing on the second operatingsystem are isolated as each runs on a different operating system layerand within separate server confines.
 2. The communication systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the second operating system executesseparately with respect to the real time operating system.
 3. Thecommunication system according to claim 1, wherein the server comprisesa multiple-core microprocessor.
 4. The communication system according toclaim 3, wherein the server further comprises a plurality of storagedevices communicatively coupled to the multiple-core microprocessor. 5.The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the plurality ofstorage devices comprise at least one of a hard drive, a solid statestorage device, and a memory.
 6. The communication system according toclaim 5, wherein the entertainment application is stored on the harddrive, and the cabin function application is stored on the solid statestorage device.
 7. The communication system according to claim 1,wherein the cabin function is selected from the group consisting ofcabin lighting, public address system, overhead, information signs,galley operation, interphone operation, lavatory operation, smokedetectors, and environmental functions.
 8. The communication systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the second operating system is implementedas a software-based virtual server.
 9. The communication systemaccording to claim 1 the second operating system is Linux.
 10. Thecommunication system according to claim 1, further comprising aredundant hot-stand-by server that can replace the server in an event ofa server failure.
 11. The communication system according to claim 1,wherein the cabin function applications and the entertainmentapplications are implemented as Service Oriented Architectureapplications.
 12. The communication system according to claim 1, whereinthe cabin function applications access aircraft cabin components over afirst cabin function network, and the entertainment applications accessentertainment system components over a second entertainment network. 13.The communication system according to claim 12, further comprising amemory partition that separates the first cabin function network and thesecond entertainment network.
 14. The communication system according toclaim 12, wherein the entertainment network comprises a 1 gigabit/secEthernet network.
 15. The communication system according to claim 12,wherein at least one of the first cabin function network and the secondentertainment network comprises a wireless access point.
 16. Thecommunication system according to claim 15, wherein the wireless accesspoint is ARINC 763 compliant, and is based on IEEE 802.11.
 17. Thecommunication system according to claim 15, wherein the wireless accesspoint utilizes Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum.
 18. The communicationsystem according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the cabin functionsystem components and entertainment system components is a wirelesscomponent that utilizes the wireless access point.
 19. The communicationsystem according to claim 12, further comprising a seat video displayunit that interfaces with the second entertainment network via which itreceives audiovisual data.
 20. The communication system according toclaim 19, wherein the audiovisual data has a format selected from thegroup consisting of MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H-264, and VC1 format.
 21. Thecommunication system according to claim 19, wherein the seat videodisplay unit comprises a wireless interface selected from the groupconsisting of WiMAX, WiFi, and DVB-H.
 22. The communication systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one entertainment applicationincludes an application selected from the group consisting of officeproductivity applications, 3D games with Open GL, andvoice-over-Internet applications.
 23. The communication system accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one cabin function application executesdirectly on the real time operating system without intervening layersbetween the cabin function application and the real time operatingsystem.
 24. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein thesecond operating system executes directly on the real time operatingsystem.